HTPC suggestion for 15k

[neerajbisht]

I am planning to replace my WDTV live with a HTPC.
Usage: Movies 1080p HD (mkvs and mp4s).
Will need HDMI out and Toslink/Coaxial SPDIF out with 5.1 channel o utput.
Do not need optical drive.
Download rig
Do not need to use it for gaming.
Need it to be silent.
Will connect HTPC to a TimeCapsule(n router) which will stream the content to HTPC.
Budget: 15k
Hardware avaialble: 500GB Sata HDD

Need suggestions on this

 

[madbullram]

There is a an HTPC on sale in classified which meets all your needs. Check

 

[mowgli80]

Zotac ZBOX Atom D525 1.8 GHz Dual-Core, No hard drive, no memory, no OS (ZBOXSD- | eBay

It ticks all your requirements and has magnificent form factor (WAF) . I use the older model Id-11 and am completely satisfied. You also need to buy about 1G RAM. If your HDD is not 2.5", you also need to buy a cheap 2.5" HDD to boot from and can connect your current HDD through USB with an external disk case. So it may shoot beyond your budget.

Edit: Please check a review for the same before buying. This has integrated intel GPU. I am not sure how well video hardware acceleration is supported by its driver. Ideally, it should not have any problems with Windows but verify this once if you intend to buy.

 

[omishra]

Zotac ZBOX Atom D525 1.8 GHz Dual-Core, No hard drive, no memory, no OS (ZBOXSD- | eBay

It ticks all your requirements and has magnificent form factor (WAF) . I use the older model Id-11 and am completely satisfied. You also need to buy about 1G RAM. If your HDD is not 2.5", you also need to buy a cheap 2.5" HDD to boot from and can connect your current HDD through USB with an external disk case. So it may shoot beyond your budget.

Edit: Please check a review for the same before buying. This has integrated intel GPU. I am not sure how well video hardware acceleration is supported by its driver. Ideally, it should not have any problems with Windows but verify this once if you intend to buy.

Anybody has experience of it with Linux. Basically I am thinking of audio playback only.

May be I can reuse my old PIV 2.4GHz desktop PC which has ASUS Xonar Essence ST already installed.

 

[mowgli80]

I have been using ID-11 (ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 [ZBOXHD-ID11-U]) exclusively with linux + xbmc without any problems for about 3 years now. Intel drivers are open source and in kernel so support is decent. It plays flacs without problems, even the HD ones . The difference is my model has Nvidia ION2 GPU which has the best video acceleration on linux with VDPAU. I am not sure about its intel GPU and how well it is supported with VAAPI (intels acceleration api for linux), hence the warning above. However it should not matter for just audio playback.

My setup: ID-11 + 2GB RAM + 250 GB HDD + ubuntu 13.04 + xbmc from git + Audio files using NFS over wifi.

 

[arunsankar]

You can get it assembled at this price. Get an AMD APU motherboard (fanless will be silent) and get a good micro atx cabinet. You're good to go. Here's a sample break up of price I payed an year back for my living room HTPC

1) AMD E-350 based mother board with HDMI - 5.5K
2) Micro ATX cabinet from Zebronics - 2K
3) 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD - 5K

Check these out:

GIGABYTE GA-E350N AMD E-350D APU AMD A45 FCH MINI-ITX Motherboard CPU Combo | eBay

Mini-ITX Cabinet For HTPC / Desktop+ DC DC 120w ATX PSU (Thin Client Compact PC) | eBay

 

[raghumailbox]

How about 3D playback?
Do we need to have a higher (3TB) internal HDD or split it to external (1+2TB)?

 

[mowgli80]

@arunsankar - The mobo you listed does not have an optical out. The zotac PC also has inbuilt wifi so thats an additional advantage. But the APU is definitely better for video processing and assembling will definitely be cheaper as the zotac box needs to be imported from US.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

I have mine on sale. It meets all that u want. Have it running openelec off a pendrive. If u want to make it silent just add a pico psu 80w and voila

tapped on Note II cdma

 

[neerajbisht]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys. I have a friend who can get stuff from US if needed.
I have updated the requirements.
@dheeraj The component looks fine but I am looking for a compact solution.

 

[aakashr]

Ensure you have at least 4GB RAM and use a good graphics card that supports all the new audio formats including HD audio (DTS-HD MA / Dolby True HD) and 3D if you need 3D. AMD motherboards with on board graphics would work well. ATI or Nvidia both work well.........

And since you are primarily using it as an HTPC you want to look for a passive (fanless) graphics card if using an external one. Keeping the noise level down is paramount.

 

[Calvin]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys. I have a friend who can get stuff from US if needed.
I have updated the requirements.
@dheeraj The component looks fine but I am looking for a compact solution.

I got Lenovo Q190 for $267 using a coupon code from TechBargains: Best Deals, Dell Coupons, Cheap Laptops, Computer Sales. It's as big as a book and handles everything. There are no coupons available now, but it comes up every two weeks or so. Rising dollar prices may be a dampener though.